Developers of Oculus Rift games sold on the Oculus Store can now grant custom Oculus Home items as achievements. Users can decorate their virtual homes with these achievements and even show off them off to friends.

Facebook first announced this feature at Oculus Connect 5 back in late September. Since then it’s been trialed with Superhot VR, Moss, Echo Arena, Job Simulator, OrbusVR, and Arizona Sunshine. From today, all Rift developers can create and grant 3D models as achievements.

Of course, achievements aren’t the only way to get custom items for your Oculus Home. Back in June, Oculus started allowing users to import their own 3D models into Home. Shortly after, the company added an ‘Export to Home’ feature to the Oculus Medium sculpting app.

Like with user-created custom items, custom developer items must be in the glTF file format. glTF is a free open standard from the Khronos group, the same organization behind Vulkan and OpenXR. Items can include looping animations, but the total file size must be under 15MB. They also have to be tied directly to achievements; you can’t grant players extra rewards for anything not linked to the system right now.

Achievements as actual items in VR may make earning them much more compelling for gamers. In the past, showing off your achievements meant a friend scrolling through a 2D list on your profile or exhibiting them as framed posters inside Home. But now you can show them off in much more personalized ways when inviting a friend around to your virtual home. You can pick one up and hand it to them, if you really want to boast.

Since its launch on Oculus Go earlier this year the MelodyVR app has mainly focused on building out a library of concerts recorded in 360 degrees for people to watch back in VR. Attending a live concert without having to leave your home has always been one of VR’s big promises, though, and the service is set to provide just that next week with the help of former One Direction star Liam Payne.

MelodyVR is set to host its first livestream on December 19th, broadcasting Payne’s headline show in London at a secret location. He might be best known for the larger boy band, but Payne’s been going his own as a solo act ever since the group went on indefinite hiatus in 2016 (bet you never thought you’d read about this on UploadVR?). He’s bound to perform his new single, Polaroid, at the show but he’s also been known to perform a One Direction song or two in his own sets from time to time.

MelodyVR will be giving away a limited number of tickets to attend the show in person but, for everyone else around the globe, you’ll be able to watch it inside Go and Gear VR. You’ll get to experience the show as if you were there in person with none of the mosh pits (okay maybe there won’t be any mosh pits at a Liam Payne concert). Payne is set to release more content on the platform throughout 2019.

Concerts have been livestreamed in VR before, but MelodyVR’s platform will allow users to switch between different cameras during the show to get the view they want, be it front row seating or a more panoramic landscape. If you’re interested in watching along you’ll need to boot up the app at 8PM GMT (about 3PM ET/12PM PT) on Monday, December 19th.

MelodyVR is still due to release on other VR headsets like PSVR and Oculus Rift in the near future.

A new partnership between Neurable and VRgineers adds the former’s “brain sensors” to the ultra high-end XTAL VR headset.

We tried out Neurable last year, a system which places EEG (Electroencephalography) sensors along the interior of a VR headset’s strap to gather data from contact with the skin around the brain. Combining that information in real-time with eye-tracking could allow the system to identify, measure and analyze the emotion and intent of the person wearing the headset. The XTAL VR headset from VRgineers includes eye tracking, so adding the EEG sensors and using Neurable’s analysis software might offer customers with very large budgets more capable analysis and training tools than consumer grade systems like Rift and Vive.

“We anticipate that this will be an enterprise-grade device, built for professional designers and engineers who require superior visual quality and highly accurate, reliable analytics,” Neurable CEO Ramses Alcaide explained in an email. “We’ve seen a lot of traction in three main areas: high-consequence simulation training for industrial applications, design feedback in AEC use cases, customer research for retail.”

VRgineers claim,”Neurable’s unique ability to overcome the signal-to-noise issues of traditional non-invasive” brain-computer interfaces “enable them to deliver on the promise of truly useful BCI technology for enterprise and consumer applications.”

The expected use cases for the system make sense for the XTAL headset, which starts around $5,500 for its ultra-high end features which include a higher resolution panel, expanded field of view and integrated Leap Motion hand tracking. There’s no word yet on when the headset with Neurable integration will be available, or how much it will cost.

The military is investing nearly half a billion dollars in Microsoft-built HoloLens AR headsets to help soldiers become more effective while Walmart purchased 17,000 Oculus Go VR headsets this year to train the workforce at every store. If businesses are able to realize savings (or increased profits) by implementing VR training, then the high up-front cost of a headset like XTAL is likely still worth the investment. While we tried XTAL earlier this year and Neurable last year, and came away impressed by aspects of both demos, we haven’t tried a demo with both of these technologies implemented together.

“VR is a medium that relishes in data. Making sense of all of that data both from an input/output perspective is very important,” Alcaide explained. “Eye-tracking allows systems to parse a user’s virtual reality experience (i.e. when and where they are looking) while BCI provides data on the internal experience of the user (e.g. change in cognitive state state). With both data streams, we can extract powerful behavioral insights from virtual reality not available otherwise. It’s not enough to just see where a user is looking. We need to know what kind of changes are going on while they do so. Similarity, it’s not enough to just know general changes in state. Being able to programmatically associate the two data streams is how we bring value to these new types of applications.”

Have you ever wanted to jump through a mysterious portal and travel to a brand new universe where you loose all sense of space and time? LEGO Playgrounds, LEGO’s latest AR app-based channel, allows you to do precisely that. The LEGO Playgrounds portal is one of the latest LEGO digital innovations; a connected play experience

Artie’s engine uses AI to create entertaining and highly interactive avatars in augmented reality. The ability to create engaging avatars is crucial if social immersive experiences and platforms wish to catch on with consumers. Unfortunately, that’s arguably the trickiest part of the puzzle, as creators have to somehow balance the desire for realistic representation/interaction

Remember Skyworld? It’s that other VR app from Arizona Sunshine developer Vertigo Games, the one that didn’t quite enjoy the same level of critical success as its zombie-slaying brethren, at least on our part. Well it’s coming to PSVR early next year and, for what it’s worth, Vertigo seems to have done an ace job handling the port.

Skyworld is a blend of turn-based and real-time strategy. For the bulk of gameplay, you’ll be building out a town filled with the usual assortment of bases and units that will gather resources for you. You can move a General unit every turn and, when you’re satisfied your forces are robust enough, take on the enemy in card-based battles. Either that or the enemy will come hunting for you and you’ll find yourself on the back foot.

One of our favorite things about the game is the cutesy presentation, and that’s been retained in the PSVR port. Skyworld has an adorable action figure aesthetic that makes exploring its model-sized worlds an absolute delight. Better yet, the diorama levels are just as easy to navigate on PSVR as they were on PC; Skyworld is a 100% 180-degree experience and, during my demo, there were no awkward instances of losing tracking or wrestling with Move buttons. It all felt entirely natural, right down to the little interactions like grabbing and spinning the table to see more of the world.

I asked Vertigo if there were going to be any big changes to the PSVR version of the game and they told me this was pretty much a straight port. That means this edition isn’t likely to win around anyone that wasn’t sold on the original version. While Skyworld nails its presentation, it remains true that there isn’t a whole lot of depth to the game. In our review we said: “Skyworld has some good ideas, but ultimately its full potential is unrealized. I applaud Vertigo for trying something new, but when it comes down to it, VR doesn’t really enhance a board game and simple strategy experience like this, and it often became more tedious and convoluted than fun.”

That remains the case here. The game’s real-time battles don’t inspire much strategic gameplay so much as a hectic free-for-all of deploying units faster than your enemy can in order to win ground. You don’t feel like you have an overwhelming amount of control, more just hoping for the best.

Still, if you have a friend whom with you share an affinity for strategic gaming, Skyworld has enjoyable online multiplayer and if you’re craving this type of experience in VR you don’t have many other choices.

It was over six years ago now that a small group of people gathered together to run a Kickstarter campaign for a first-of-its-kind VR headset. They raised nearly $2.5 million and the Oculus Rift was born. Fast forward to 2018 and the Rift has been on the market for two and a half years and amassed an impressive ecosystem of games in that time. We’re here to pick the 25 best.

Throughout the week we’re going to be updating this list with five games a day in ranked order, leading up to the game we’ve crowned as, yes, the very best game on the platform. Once we’re done, this will be our new and definitive list, replacing our previous, smaller version. Updates will appear on this very page so make sure to check back through the week.

With that said, here are UploadVR’s 25 best Oculus Rift games.

25. Dirt Rally – Read Our Review

Against all odds, Codemasters did a fantastic job of porting Dirt Rally over to the Oculus Rift. This is one of our very favorite VR racers, despite the very thought of a rally game in VR making our stomachs churn. Unlike some games that strip back their content in VR *cough* Gran Turismo Sport *cough*, Rally provides the full experience inside a headset.

That means there’s plenty of content ready and waiting in this high-speed, bumpy ride. But it’s just how finely tuned the experience is that really separates Dirt Rally from the pack. No one knows how to do racers like Codemasters, and the mechanical precision and campaign depth on display here is fantastic. Other racing sims may offer bigger, more authentic experiences, but none are quite as fun to play as Dirt Rally.

24. Creed: Rise to Glory – Read Our Review

Few sports go hand-in-hand with current VR systems as well as boxing, and Creed: Rise to Glory is undeniably the best entry into the genre yet. Developer Survios was able to build upon its three other VR releases (each of which was in consideration for this list) with a game that didn’t just let you live out the boxing champion fantasy but is also smartly made to keep you grounded in VR.

Creed uses what Survios calls the ‘Phantom Melee’ system, which is designed to do away with those awkward spamming issues that many VR boxing games struggle with. It simulates fatigue and places restrictions on your character, forcing you to fight with fairness and strategy. That makes for thrilling multiplayer that isn’t just a chaotic free-for-all. The best thing we can say about Creed is that you could strip the movie tie-in right out of it and you’d still have something every bit as thrilling. The proof is in the punch.

23. Transpose – Read Our Review

After the bullet-dodging thrills of Blasters of the Universe, Secret Location had its work cut out for it maintaining its standards with Transpose. Fortunately, the game passes the difficult second album test with ease; Transpose is a mind-bending puzzle game in which you record your

If you want to find and install unique VR apps for Go that aren’t available on the Oculus Store, or you want to use regular 2D Android apps like Amazon Prime Video and Steam Link, this guide explains how to achieve both.

You’ll need a Windows computer with a USB port- the Go can’t sideload apps by itself.

There are 3 different types of apps/games you can sideload to your Go:

VR Apps: these are VR apps just like you’d download on the Oculus Store, except either the developer didn’t want to put it on the store or Oculus rejected it. Note that they must be specifically made for either Gear VR or Oculus Go though – Google Cardboard and Daydream apps won’t work.

Android TV Apps: these are media apps or simple games made for TVs running Android. They will be displayed in the app list on the virtual screen in Oculus TV. These apps suit Oculus TV very well because a virtual TV’s UI works the same as a real TV. Most Android TV apps should work except for ones from Google.

Android Phone Apps: these are regular Android apps meant for phones. Keep in mind that only some will work, as Oculus Go doesn’t have Google’s proprietary Play Services package which many apps depend on. You may also have some input problems as these were designed for touchscreens. To use these types of apps with Go you’ll have to take an extra step, listed at the bottom of the article.

DISCLAIMER: sideloaded apps are by definition not vetted by Oculus. You install them “at your own risk”, as they could affect the security or stability of your headset.

First Time Setup
Step 1: Enable Developer Mode

Put the Oculus Go in developer mode to be able to sideloading to the Go. To do this, you have to be a registered “developer”. This process is free.

Go to dashboard.oculus.com on your PC and create an ‘organization’. You’ll be asked to accept the developer agreement.

Now that you’re a “developer”, open the Oculus app on your smartphone or tablet. In the Settings tab, tap on the Go headset and tap ‘More settings’. In the list, you should now see Developer Mode.

If you don’t see developer mode, try rebooting your phone and the headset.

Step 2: Install The Drivers & ADB

Install the PC driver to allow your PC to install apps on the standalone VR headset.

Download the driver from Oculus.com. When the download finishes, extract the zip file into a folder. Now right click on android_winusb.inf and click Install.

Finally, you need to download ADB. ADB is the software which lets PCs transfer and install apps onto Android-based devices like Go.

Extract the contents of the platform-tools folder to an easy to find folder on your PC, such as C:\ADB. You’ll need to type out the path to this folder when sideloading, so putting the file near the root of your drive saves typing time later.

T’is the season to be giving and Oculus and ESL will be bestowing $100,000 upon one of two charities through the new Change the Game VR Charity Challenge web-show.

Set to run this week from December 13th – 16th, the challenge will see two teams of five influencers go head-to-head in four VR games. At the end of the week the winning team will score the prize money for the charity they’re representing. One side is playing for a gaming-focused veteran charity named Stack Up while the other is representing a mental health nonprofit that also focuses on games, named Take This (which is a brilliant name, I might add).

As for the games, we’ll see players compete in classics like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Dead and Buried, and Creed: Rise to Glory. There’s also going to be a Face Your Fears round which we’re not quite sure how will work. Perhaps it’s the last team to ‘nope’ out of it?

You can see a trailer for the show below. It promises to be more than just a simple stream with themed sets.

There’s set to be one match per day, airing as one short episode. You’ll be able to watch along via the Oculus Facebook page or YouTube channel at 10AM PT every day.